Opsonix, Inc., a startup launched from the Wyss Institute in 2015, has been selected to receive the prestigious 2017 Spinoff Award from the non-profit organization spinoff.com Each year, spinoff.com analyzes more than 8,000 spinoffs based on technologies from leading institutions and companies worldwide. Fewer than 1% of the surveyed technologies and companies are honored.

Opsonix, Inc. is further developing and commercializing a broad-spectrum pathogen-extracting therapy, first developed at the Institute, to transform the treatment of sepsis. Its pathogen-extracting device is designed to remove live pathogens as well as toxic and immunostimulatory Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs) from circulating blood in patients with bloodstream infections and sepsis. This broadly applicable pathogen capture platform is based on a genetically engineered version of a natural human blood protein and is suitable for multiple therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

This video explains how sepsis induced by an overload of blood pathogens can be treated with the Wyss Institute’s pathogen-extracting device. Blood is flown through a cartridge filled with hollow fibers that are coated with a genetically engineered blood protein inspired by a naturally-occurring human molecule called Mannose Binding Lectin (MBL). As pathogens flow through the hollow fibers, they bind to the protein-coated tubes and are removed from the circulating blood. Credit: Wyss Institute at Harvard University